Tet'12

Unsurprisingly I wasn't up too early on Chinese New Year's Day after my late night. I did have an alarm set however, there were going to be dragon dancers at Novotel and I wanted to see them, luckily it wasn't until 10am. I got myself together and hustled over there. What will I do when Jan leaves? The dancing was amazing and the performance included one of the dancers climbing a three metre bamboo pole and doing tricks on the top before unfurling a banner wishing us all a happy new year. Very cool and one of those things that I wanted to see during the holiday. Anna,Jan and I moved to the beach bar and started the day right with Bloody Marys before having lunch. After lunch we cycled out to the local orphanage, Anna had wanted to go for a while and was determined that she would do it before she left, so away we went. The orphanage currently only has six children, but two of them will never be adopted out as they have medical issues. There were three girls there who have all been adopted by couples from Denmark and will be picked up soon. One of the disabled children suffers from water on the brain, Anna took a look at him, but I couldn't.I finished the day quietly in my neighbourhood, it had been a full day, little did I know that I would need the rest. Tuesday morning Anna and I went to Phuong's house at 10am, I was so excited to be going to celebrate Tet in a Vietnamese house. We sat down and were immediately served beer, ah well, in for a penny in for a pound. I enjoyed sitting with her family, everyone was so kind and friendly, it was great to see how the Vietnamese celebrate Tet, it is still a family holiday. Phuong's brothers dropped round with their families, neighbours dropped in to say hello and all the children were given "lucky money" for Tet. After Phuong's we went to her grandmother's house just around the corner. Again we were met with kindness and generosity, which included more beer. I was a little bit embarrassed as here Anna and I were the only people drinking beer. We got home for about thirty minutes before heading down to the river to watch the boat racing, it's a bit like dragon boat racing except the teams don't include a drummer. It was a really hot day and since we were stood out in the sun we watched a couple of races and then called it a day. We decided to cycle down Bo Ke to see if there was anyone there we could have a beer with, well there was. We were cycling past the moored fishing boats and a couple of guys started to wave at us, so we stopped, waved back and then went aboard their boat. We sat and drank with the fishermen for a couple of hours. There was a guy there who was home for Tet, he lives in Saigon and spoke pretty good English. We got to see a few more boat races and had an awesome time, culminating in having to take a pee over the side of the boat! Vu, the guy, then invited us back to his house for more beer, of course we went. I've noticed that when I drink there is a point at which I should stop but if I don't then it can continue for a long time, this was turning into one of those days. After leaving Vu's house I decided that we should cycle back through the fishing village instead of straight back to the main road. An inspired decision. There were plenty of people sat outside their houses having parties and we joined one of them, Anna got to eat a fertilised duck egg, I said no way. I don't think she enjoyed it. We then moved on to a restaurant on Ton Duc Thang, Jan joined us here as he had had to work. I then went to TP with Dan and Tan for a few more drinks, not sure what time I got home, I think it was around 1am. It had been an awesome day. Wednesday morning I got a wake up call from Tai at 7.30am asking me to join him for coffee, I said hell no and went back to bed. I was in no fit state to go anywhere and certainly not up to making conversation with anyone. In fact I only left the house twice to get some food otherwise it was spent on the couch. The next day Anna and I went to Lagi, we went to see a friend of ours, Dung, he was a political prisoner in Vietnam before leaving to live in Norway and has since returned. His movements are still monitored by the police. We sat in his garden at the family home and met the rest of his family, everyone was just sat around eating and drinking, not doing much else. A nice relaxing, low key afternoon. We had dinner back in PT with some couch surfers and then I had a reasonably early night.My last holiday Friday was a disappointing day as in I wasn't able to do what I'd wanted to. We'd been invited to go to another friend's house but when we got to the bus station there wasn't another bus for two hours and even if we had taken that there was no way of getting back into town and it would have coat an arm and a leg by taxi. We then tried to get our nails done but many places were still closed for Tet, I ended up by lazing the afternoon away at home. I had dinner with the couch surfers and then went to TP nightclub. Saturday was a quiet day, Saturday night however was a different matter as it was Jan's leaving parrty. I met everyone at Novotel, where we had a couple of drinks before going to La Taverna in Mui Ne. Dinner was very good, there was about fourteen of us and the conversation was flowing as easily as the wine. After dinner we alternated between Funkey bar and DJ Station. It had started to rain and Funkey is open to the elements so we were getting wet, but after getting to DJ Station there was a power cut and they couldn't get their generator to work. Regardless it was a late and good night. I think Jan enjoyed it and I got to meet Carlo his replacement, he's twenty-three, Dutch and not as tall as Jan. I will have to find someone else to go to for my man hugs from now on. I got absolutely soaked on my way home, for the time of year we had a major rainstorm. Don't like it. I finished the weekend and my holiday with Sunday breakfast at Novotel and then chilled for the rest of the day at home. Obviously I didn't want to go back to work, but just as obviously if I want to earn a wage I have no choice. Work was work, I managed to get through it, not the attitude I know but what can I say? I had to get home fairly quickly after work to let in a couch surfer, it's turning into bit of a pain having a locked gate at the front of the house. The problem is that there is no way to leave it open without it being obvious that it's open. And Mr. Sang, the owner's father, has drummed it into us that we should not leave the gate open. It's another of the things that our neighbours find funny about us,that our gate is always locked regardless of whether or not we are home. Anna and I went for a farewell dinner together on Bo Ke and then to the snail place for a few beers, where we were joined by her friend Thuan and Tan. On my way home I stopped and had a beer with some guys sat on the corner of the street and then dancing with them much to my surprise. I was home on Tuesday morning to see Anna off and it was some sadness and satisfaction that I took her keys off her. It was the end of an era to be sure and reminds me all the more that living this kind of life always means saying goodbye to people. Just as in Japan I feel that my Vietnam window is closing and I am not much longer for Phan Thiet. I may be relieved that Anna is gone but my life here definitely won't be the same without her and even if she does end up getting a job in Saigon, it still won't be the same. I was determined not to be sat at home that night brooding' so went to Mui Ne for dinner, with Daniel, Anh, Kate and Winston. We finished off with a couple of games of pool and I was home in bed at a respectable time. February here I come.